Rich and Famous, released in theaters on September 23, 1981, is a decades-spanning melodrama that examines the complicated, often turbulent, but ultimately enduring friendship between two highly ambitious women writers. The film is a rich exploration of the professional rivalries, romantic entanglements, and shifting lives that define a deep bond.
The plot begins with the wedding of Liz Hamilton (Jacqueline Bisset), a serious, literary novelist, and Chris Adams (David Selby), a professor. Her lifelong friend, Merry Noel Blake (Candice Bergen), a flamboyant, extroverted woman with a flair for popular, often trashy, fiction, attends the ceremony.
The narrative then jumps forward, chronicling the diverging paths of their careers and personal lives over the next two decades.
Liz struggles to balance her literary integrity with the demands of motherhood and her quiet family life, while Merry Noel becomes a sensation, achieving massive fame and fortune by writing commercially successful, sensational bestsellers.
Their bond is tested repeatedly by jealousy, professional critiques, and Merry Noel’s tumultuous dating life.
The film tracks the cultural shifts of the time and how each woman adapts, or fails to adapt, to the changing publishing world and the expectations placed on women.
Key figures in their circle include a persistent magazine editor (Steven Hill) and younger men who enter Merry Noel’s orbit, such as the ambitious young writer Jules Levi (Hart Bochner).
The film is notable for introducing several young actors in supporting roles who would later become stars, including Meg Ryan, Nicole Eggert, and Matt Lattanzi. Their presence serves to highlight the passage of time and the evolving definitions of success and celebrity that Liz and Merry Noel embody.
This was the final film directed by George Cukor (Gaslight, Adam’s Rib, My Fair Lady).
Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset in Rich and Famous (Photo/United Artists)
Reception for Rich and Famous
Rich and Famous grossed $14.5 million in its theatrical run.
Roger Ebert gave Rich and Famous two and a half out of four stars in his review.
Legacy
The legacy of Rich and Famous lies in its candid, if sometimes melodramatic, look at female professional rivalry and companionship.
It is a powerful, complex character study that celebrates the resilience of a friendship that survives success, failure, betrayal, and the corrosive nature of fame.
The film offers a bittersweet conclusion about the irreplaceable comfort found in deep, shared history.
